Net closes on Cape drug pushers

Two women were arrested at a roadblock on the West Coast road after police found 96 bags of dagga in their car on Thursday.

Provincial traffic chief Kenny Africa said that shortly after the arrests women were arrested, a man travelling on the same road was nabbed when money bags filled with dagga were found in his car.

Africa said the incidents were only a few of the people arrested for the possession of drugs at roadblocks over the festive season.

Earlier this month law enforcement officers found 200 parcels of dagga, worth about R182 000, inside the boot of a car stopped at a roadblock on the N1.

Operation Drug Watch, a LeadSA collaborative initiative between the Cape Argus, 567 CapeTalk, 94.5 Kfm and Western Cape law enforcement agencies, was started just over a month ago to curb the drug trade in the province.

At the time, Western Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Arno Lamoer said that the success of drug busts at the Cape Town International Airport had driven drug smugglers away from the airport and that they were now transporting drugs by road.

Meanwhile, on Sunday eight people were arrested at a Bellville flat after being found with 222 bunches of the drug, Khat, said police spokesman Frederick van Wyk.

He said the drugs had an estimated street value of R7000.

Over the past week, police also reported that khat worth R5 520 had been seized.

Since the launch of Operation Drug Watch more than 8 000 people have been arrested and more than R5 million worth of drugs have been confiscated in the Western Cape.

Dagga, mandrax and tik account for most of the confiscations and are linked to most arrests.

Of all the arrests in the past month, the Manenberg police station had the most arrests – contributing 6.53 percent of the number of arrests made, followed by Mitchells Plain and Delft.